CellHood is built on a straightforward principle: the right plan should match the scale of your work, not force you to overpay for capacity you do not need. Whether you are a student managing a handful of cultures or a biotech startup coordinating dozens of researchers, there is a tier designed for that exact situation.
This page breaks down every CellHood subscription plan side by side, covering pricing, user limits, batch capacity, and the specific features included at each level. Use it to find your fit quickly, then start a 30-day free trial with no card required.
Key fact: Student and Researcher plans both include a full 30-day free trial. No credit card is needed, and your trial ends automatically unless you choose to subscribe.
Plans at a Glance
CellHood offers seven subscription tiers split into two groups: individual plans for solo researchers, and group plans for shared laboratory environments. The table below summarises the headline details for each. Prices shown here are in US dollars; the pricing page displays the applicable regional currency.
| Plan | Type | Price (monthly) | Users | Live batches | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student | Individual | $3.99 / month (incl. tax) | 1 | 5 | 30 days |
| Researcher | Individual | $7.99 / month (incl. tax) | 1 | 10 | 30 days |
| Researcher Plus | Individual | $12.99 / month (incl. tax) | 1 | 20 | No |
| Team | Group | $129 / month (excl. tax) | Up to 5 | 25 | No |
| Lab | Group | $259 / month (excl. tax) | Up to 15 | 50 | No |
| Startup | Group | $649 / month (excl. tax) | Up to 40 | 100 | No |
| Enterprise | Group | Custom / contracted | No hard cap | Unlimited | No |
Annual billing is available on all plans and saves between 8% and 12% depending on the tier. Individual plan prices include applicable tax; group plan prices exclude applicable tax.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
The table below maps every documented feature to the plan or plans that include it. Features are grouped by functional area to make it easier to assess what matters most for your workflow.
How to read this table: A tick (✓) means the feature is included. A dash (–) means it is not available on that plan. “Coming soon” marks planned capabilities that are not yet available. Features marked as "included from" carry forward into all higher tiers.
Core culture management
| Feature | Student | Researcher | Researcher Plus | Team | Lab | Startup | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Culture and lineage records | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Concurrent live batch limit | 5 | 10 | 20 | 25 | 50 | 100 | Unlimited |
| Protocol management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Feed scheduling | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Media tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reports and audit history | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Advanced schedules and exports | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom protocol libraries | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom media libraries | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Collaboration and team management
| Feature | Student | Researcher | Researcher Plus | Team | Lab | Startup | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Included users | 1 | 1 | 1 | Up to 5 | Up to 15 | Up to 40 | No cap |
| Shared culture ownership | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team schedules and GANTT planning | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Roles, handovers, and permissions | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dual sign-off workflows | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Service accounts | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Flexible user capacity (negotiated) | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ |
Compliance, audit, and governance
| Feature | Student | Researcher | Researcher Plus | Team | Lab | Startup | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immutable audit trail | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Controlled audit reports | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Operational governance | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Security and deployment review | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Negotiated SLA and escalation terms | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Contracted integrations | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ |
Integrations and API access
| Feature | Student | Researcher | Researcher Plus | Team | Lab | Startup | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal API access | – | – | Coming soon | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Expanded API and webhooks | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Connected Google Drive or OneDrive archive | – | – | Coming soon | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Service account integrations | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ |
AI and advanced features
| Feature | Student | Researcher | Researcher Plus | Team | Lab | Startup | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI protocol import (PDF / DOCX) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Saved AI mappings | – | – | Coming soon | – | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Longer AI processing history | – | – | Coming soon | – | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Access to beta features | – | – | ✓ | – | – | – | – |
Support
| Feature | Student | Researcher | Researcher Plus | Team | Lab | Startup | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priority support | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priority product support | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Contracted support terms | – | – | – | – | – | – | ✓ |
Individual Plans: Who Each Tier Is For
Student: $3.99 / month
Designed for enrolled students managing their own cultures independently. The Student plan covers the complete individual workflow at the lowest accessible price, with support for up to 5 concurrent live batches. Every core feature is included: culture and lineage records, protocol management, feed scheduling, media tracking, and a full audit history.
Best for: Undergraduate and postgraduate students running a focused set of cultures as part of a research project or dissertation.
Researcher: $7.99 / month
The most popular individual plan, built for postdocs, research technicians, and independent researchers who need more active-work capacity. Researcher doubles the batch limit to 10 concurrent live cultures and adds advanced schedules, exports, and custom protocol and media libraries.
Best for: Regular bench users who manage multiple ongoing cultures and need to build and reuse their own protocols and media formulations.
Researcher Plus: $12.99 / month
The power-user individual plan. Researcher Plus raises the batch limit to 20 concurrent live cultures and includes access to beta features. Personal API access, connected Google Drive or OneDrive backup, saved AI mappings, and longer processing history are coming soon.
Best for: Power users who want maximum individual capacity and early access to new features. External storage connections and personal API automations are planned capabilities.
Note: Researcher Plus does not include a free trial. The Student and Researcher plans both offer 30 days free with no credit card required, making them the natural starting point for most individual users.
Group Plans: Who Each Tier Is For
Team: $129 / month (up to 5 users)
The entry point for shared laboratory work. Team introduces the full collaboration layer: shared culture ownership, team schedules and GANTT planning, and role-based permissions with handover support. With up to 5 users and 25 concurrent live batches, it suits small research groups where everyone needs visibility into the same cultures.
Best for: Small research groups, final-year project teams, or two-to-five-person labs sharing daily cell culture operations.
Lab: $259 / month (up to 15 users)
The most popular group plan, built for established laboratories that need more capacity and stronger reporting controls. Lab adds dual sign-off workflows, controlled audit reports, and expanded API access and webhooks on top of everything in Team. The jump to 50 concurrent live batches and 15 users covers most mid-sized academic or biotech laboratories.
Best for: Established research laboratories, core facilities, and CRO teams that require formal sign-off procedures and structured audit outputs.
Startup: $649 / month (up to 40 users)
Designed for biotechnology startups coordinating larger operations across multiple researchers or departments. Startup adds service accounts and integrations, priority support, operational governance, saved AI mappings, and longer AI processing history. With 100 concurrent live batches and up to 40 users, it scales to cover substantial laboratory programmes.
Best for: Biotech startups, scale-up operations, and larger research organisations that need service-level integrations, governance controls, and responsive support without moving to a fully negotiated contract.
Enterprise: Custom pricing
For large or complex organisations with requirements that go beyond the standard tiers. Enterprise removes the hard user cap, provides unlimited live batches, and adds contracted support terms, a dedicated security and deployment review, negotiated SLA and escalation terms, and contracted integration arrangements.
Best for: Pharmaceutical companies, large CROs, academic medical centres, and any organisation that requires a formal procurement process, custom security review, or negotiated service-level commitments.
To discuss Enterprise requirements, contact the CellHood team directly.
Annual Billing Savings
Every plan supports annual billing, which reduces the effective monthly cost. The savings are applied automatically when you switch to annual at sign-up or from your account settings.
| Plan | Monthly total (12 months) | Annual price | Annual saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student | $47.88 | ~$44 | ~8% |
| Researcher | $95.88 | ~$86 | ~10% |
| Researcher Plus | $155.88 | ~$137 | ~12% |
| Team | $1,548 | ~$1,424 | ~8% |
| Lab | $3,108 | ~$2,797 | ~10% |
| Startup | $7,788 | ~$6,853 | ~12% |
| Enterprise | Contracted | Contracted | Negotiated |
Annual pricing figures shown are approximate based on the stated percentage savings. Exact amounts are confirmed at checkout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan?
Yes. You can change your plan at any time from your account settings. Upgrades take effect immediately; downgrades apply at the end of your current billing period.
Do group plans include individual user accounts?
Yes. Every seat on a group plan is a full individual account within the shared workspace. Roles and permissions control what each member can view or modify.
What happens when my free trial ends?
Your trial ends automatically. You will not be charged unless you actively choose to subscribe. Your data is retained for a grace period if you decide to subscribe shortly after the trial expires.
Are prices shown inclusive of tax?
Individual plan prices (Student, Researcher, Researcher Plus) are shown inclusive of applicable tax. Group plan prices (Team, Lab, Startup) are shown exclusive of applicable tax, which will be added at checkout based on your billing location.
Is there a plan for academic institutions purchasing on behalf of multiple researchers?
The Lab and Startup plans cover most institutional use cases. For larger academic departments, core facilities, or multi-site arrangements, the Enterprise plan provides the flexibility to negotiate user capacity, support terms, and integrations. Contact us to discuss your requirements.
Does CellHood claim GxP or 21 CFR Part 11 compliance?
CellHood is built with traceability, accountability, and security in mind, and features such as immutable audit trails, role-based access, and isolated workspaces support good laboratory practices. CellHood does not currently hold formal certification under GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, or ISO 27001. If regulatory compliance is a critical requirement, get in touch to discuss your specific needs.
Ready to Get Started?
The Student and Researcher plans include a full 30-day free trial with no credit card required. If you are unsure which plan fits your workflow, start with Researcher: it covers the needs of most individual bench users and gives you ten concurrent batches to work with.
For groups and laboratories, the Lab plan is the most common starting point. It covers up to 15 users and 50 live batches, includes dual sign-off and controlled audit reports, and scales to meet the operational demands of most established research teams.
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Compare CellHood’s current plans against your active culture count, team size and collaboration needs. Review exact billing terms before subscribing.